Victory to the Clans in 4 Holes Bridge Battle
April 06, 29484 - [Global]
FJRK - 4 Holes - 29th/30th March 29484 - A large encounter between Clan and Omni-Tek fighters results in a battle for the Clable bridge between Andromeda and 4 Holes. Unionist forces and Clan allies push back the Omni-Tek foothold resulting in a clear victory for the Clans.
For many, the first signs that something big was going on were public IRRK News Wire broadcasts made by both sides calling for backup and reinforcements. Others certainly knew that something was stirring in the south of 4 Holes even earlier than this.
By what we could gather about the events leading up to the battle, it seems that the Unionists Clan had sent messages to their allies concerning an Omni Armed Forces plan to secure the southern route into 4 Holes. The subsequent movement of troops resulted in both sides of the bridge being heavily fortified with anti-personnel turrets, artillery and infantry. It also transpired (in a cautionary IRRK broadcast) that landmines had been set in the area against mechs and other armour.
Once both sides had prepared their defences, small skirmishes across the bridge led to calls for volunteers and eventually a large-scale battle as the tester advances turned into bloody frays. We spoke to a Unionist Commander Zimm Firn, who told us of the tactical developments.
"Well at first them Omnis teased us a bit. Came at us then retreated. 'Course they're basically cowards, but I'll give them a little credit here - I reckon they were trying to pull us onto their turrets. They think they got superior APTs, you see... just arrogance really. But we held our ground without falter. They came with mechs... we blasted 'em with rockets. They came on foot... we cut them down, gun and axe. They tried to flank... we stood and laughed while our mines threw 'em around."
As I watched, the battle grew... There was confusion, there was deafening noise, there were nano-tracers flowing back and forth just as often as bullets. Every so often the ground would rumble beneath my feet as a landmine would hurl people and mechs off the bridge and into the water. Wave after wave of Omnis broke against the solid clan lines and the tide of the battle ebbed back and forth across the bridge.
"Our objective at this point was to get our engineers across the river to rig their ammunition dumps." the Unionist commander told us afterwards. "Their turrets were pretty tough. But our allies in mechs managed to disable a few of them. We thought it'd be a cakewalk after that."
But the Omni fighters had one more cowardly ploy. Sounding their retreat again, they launched a massive long-range artillery strike against the clan lines, causing the clan fighters - who were preparing another assault - to run for cover. The Omni forces then crossed the bridge in the biggest assault yet... a last ditch charge against the bruised clan defences.
"We knew it was over then... oh no, not for us. For them! They were desperate. All we had to do was regroup, protect our ammo supplies and it was only a matter of time."
And sure enough, the deadly-looking Omni charge was held at bay as their number thinned. Slowly at first, as the Omnis met the stationary turrets and could not push through. And then quicker as the Clan fighters regrouped and surrounded the Omni assault. Then, with the Omni forces decimated, the Unionists sounded their own charge against the Omni defense. And off they went at an incredible pace and number. The Omni defenses stood no chance and the feeble waves of reinforcements hardly made it to viewing distance of the river before being cut off by the Clan fighters. Once again the air sang and the earth shook with the sound of grenades, gunfire, sword-on-armour and the laughter of the Clans as they mopped up the routing Omnis or watched with frustration as the cowardly officer commanding the Omni-Tek troops evacuated with a teleportation nanoprogram.
"They'll think twice before coming this way again. And yeah, big thanks to all who volunteered with us, couldn't have done it without you... and to the Omnis. Not a bad effort blues, see you next time... briefly. Ha!" Said our Unionist friend, Zimm Firn. "Just goes to show. Omnis just strut around with shiny armour and guns. They ain't got any kind of real hold on us any more. Just look at the notum wars. And here... So yeah, we fight. We fight a lot. That's what happens on a battlefield where death is just a redeployment. But they ain't made any real ground into 4 Holes since we kicked 'em out. Whichever way they come, we'll be here... I'll be here and whatever Clanner wants to join me. We'll stand against the ineffective waves of blue dots as we laugh and brush them away."
A certain victory for the Clans. The southern route into 4 Holes remains a safe passage for all.
Well... except Omni-Tek.